Lifted

Overall, LIFTED shows how you may pay tribute to a favorite work but still maintain your own individuality throughout. You can feel the influence of Back to the Future from the very beginning and throughout the entire adventure, but the game’s great sense of humor, various puzzles, slick platforming and playful art design allow it to retain a personality of its own. In this sense, it offers a good answer to the question asked at the beginning of this review.

Lifted brings together the joy of watching your favorite movie with a simple platformer, and I had a blast playing it. There were a lot of cutscenes that gave the enjoyment of watching a movie, so they didn’t distract from the gameplay. The gameplay itself was simple, but well done for the most part and made the journey enjoyable. While I do wish the game was a little bit longer, I have found that going back for the collectibles feels worth it. While the puzzles weren’t challenging, finding the collectibles can be, and earning the new outfits feels like an achievement. Overall, Lifted focuses on bringing joy to the player. Nothing’s so hard as to cause frustration, and the wackiness of the story kept me smiling for the whole playthrough. If you’re looking for a fun, enjoyable couple of hours, I’d suggest Lifted.

Lifted is designed for all players, not just seasoned vets. It's welcoming to even the youngest of gamers, but the settings can be tinkered to make it more of a challenge. The game is created by Jeff Ashbrook, a former Disney Imagineer. With that experience, his goal to make a game that appeals to everyone and tells a riveting interactive story is fully realized. It's a solid choice for any gamer who loves a good adventure, is ideal for families, fans of story-driven platformers, or anyone craving a lighthearted adventure. It's not perfect – it's a little on the short side, has its share of camera glitches, and may be too easy for some, but it's still a fun experience. The game has heart, a lot of feel-good moments, and will keep you smiling from beginning to end.

All in all, LIFTED is a charming, funny and, for the most part, laid-back platformer that will particularly appeal to families with children, casual gamers and fans of 1980s films. Whilst more experienced veterans of the genre will have no trouble completing it in a single afternoon – and may not find its mechanical simplicity entirely satisfying – it works reliably as an accessible little game.

LIFTED is a good idea that needed more time to mature. Its short length, simplistic level design, uneven dialogue, and technical problems hold it back from real greatness, but the colorful presentation and accessible gameplay make it worth checking out for younger players or families looking for a short game to play together.

I want to keep this review short and sweet, just like the game. This isn’t the deepest game of all time. There’s nothing groundbreaking here. But it ran smoothly even on my potato laptop, and I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time, which doesn’t happen much. If you like platformers and a good, silly time, you’ll love this one for sure. The only thing holding me back from a perfect score is that it does play oh so very safely within the boundaries of the genre, so it’s hard to call it a “must play.” That said, this is a very, very fun game, and you are guaranteed a fun time!

If the overuse of perfect didn’t give it away, I have to give LIFTED the Thumb Culture Platinum Award. This game really is just a nice break from other games that are coming out at the moment. After seeing how highly Stu rated the demo I was a little apprehensive, but I can fully agree that this game definitely deserves to be added to everyone’s Steam library.

As expected from the mind of a Disney Imagineer, Lifted is a retro inspired platformer that feels like a trip to Disney. It's an experience that channels your inner-child with charm, whimsy and fun, but it’s also full of frustrations like long lines, sweltering heat, high prices, rude people and crying kids. In the case of Lifted, it’s unrefined gameplay, minimal challenge, forgettable story, and extremely short runtime. How much you enjoy your adventure will depend on what part of the experience you focus on?

LIFTED is a short adventure, but it makes good use of its just over three hours. The game introduces new ideas, alternates between puzzles and precision platforming, and reaches its conclusion before its structure starts to become repetitive.